Posted in Whathaveyou on June 2nd, 2021 by JJ Koczan
Not unexpected, this news, but welcome. Clutch previously announced their winter tour with Stöner and are following up on that with two more legs of dates for which they’ll also be joined by King Buffalo and Telekinetic Yeti, where The Native Howl, as noted prior, will do the holiday run.
If you’re not marking this as a victory for the home team, you’re fucking up. That’s all there is to it. Tickets are on sale now.
Hot off the PR wire:
CLUTCH EXTENDS 30 YEARS OF ROCK N ROLL TOUR
Clutch has extended its upcoming 30 Years of Rock & Roll Tour. The dates start Sep 8 in Norfolk, VA, and continue through New Year’s Eve in Cincinnati, OH.
Supporting the tour will be STONER, the brand new band featuring Brant Bjork (Kyuss) and Nick Oliveri (Queens Of The Stone Age, Kyuss). Dates will also include support from Telekinetic Yeti (leg 1), King Buffalo (leg 2) and Detroit natives and “thrash grass” pioneers, The Native Howl (leg 3).
CLUTCH Celebrating 30 Years of Rock N Roll Fall/Winter Tour Dates:
LEG 1 w/ Stoner & Telekinetic Yeti Sep. 08 – Norfolk, VA – The Norva Sep. 10 – Danville, VA – Blue Ridge Music Festival Sep. 11 – Reading, PA – Reverb Sep. 13 – Flint, MI – Machine Shop Sep. 14 – Flint, MI – Machine Shop Sep. 16 – Asheville, NC – Orange Peel Sep. 17 – Chattanooga, TN – The Signal Sep. 18 – Pensacola, FL – Vinyl
LEG 2 w/ Stoner & King Buffalo Sep. 29 – Ft. Wayne, IN – Piere’s Guys Oct. 01 – Albany, NY – Empire Live Oct. 02 – New Haven, CT – College Street Music Hall Oct. 03 – Portland, ME – State Theater Oct. 05 – Buffalo, NY – Town Ballroom Oct. 07 – Long Island, NY – Paramount Theater Oct. 08 – Burlington, VT – Higher Ground Oct. 09 – Hampton Beach, NH – Hampton Beach Casino
Leg 3 w/ Stoner & The Native Howl Dec. 27 – Baltimore, MD – Rams Head Dec. 28 – Sayreville, NJ – Starland Ballroom Dec. 29 – Cleveland, OH – Agoura Theatre Dec. 30 – Detroit, MI – Filmore Theatre Dec. 31 – Cincinnati, OH – The Icon
CLUTCH: Neil Fallon – Vocals/Guitar Tim Sult – Guitar Dan Maines – Bass Jean-Paul Gaster – Drums/Percussion CLUTCH: Neil Fallon – Vocals/Guitar Tim Sult – Guitar Dan Maines – Bass Jean-Paul Gaster – Drums/Percussion
Posted in Whathaveyou on May 18th, 2021 by JJ Koczan
Clutch have hardly been idle during the pandemic. They’ve done three ‘Live From the Doom Saloon’ livestreams and put out concurrent vinyl offerings, released a massive box set — what was that called again? — and offered up the singles compilation Weathermaker Vault Series Vol. 1 (review here), but if you want to feel like there’s some kind of return to normal happening in the world, you’re not going to find much more encouragement in that regard than a Clutch holiday tour. The Maryland-ish-based four-piece will celebrate 30 years by hitting the road once again between Xmas and New Year’s, as is their wont, and Dec. 28 at Starland Ballroom sounds pretty gosh darn good to me thank you very much don’t mind if I do.
Brant Bjork and Nick Oliveri‘s Stöner will support, and The Native Howl open. The dates follow here, courtesy of the PR wire:
CLUTCH ANNOUNCE WINTER HEADLINE TOUR DATES / CELEBRATING 30 YEARS OF ROCK N ROLL
Clutch has just announced a string of Winter 2021 headline tour dates celebrating 30 years of rock and roll starting on December 27th in Baltimore, MD. Supporting the tour will be STONER, the brand new band featuring Brant Bjork (Kyuss) and Nick Oliveri (Queens Of The Stone Age, Kyuss). The run will also include Detroit natives and “thrash grass” pioneers, The Native Howl.
“We are incredibly excited to hit the road again” states Clutch. “We’ve missed the shows, the fans, the venues and the opportunity to watch the other bands we share the stage with. It’s going to feel like our first show all over again and we can’t wait! Come out and let’s make some Rock and Roll!.”
Tickets will go on sale to the general public Friday, May 21st at 10:00 am atwww.ClutchOnTour.com.
CLUTCH Celebrating 30 Years of Rock N Roll Winter Tour Dates:
Posted in Whathaveyou on December 1st, 2020 by JJ Koczan
Clutch have had an awful lot going on lately for a band who can’t tour. They just the compilation of singles Weathermaker Vault Series Vol. 1 (review here), they just put out a box set of upwards of 18LPs, and amid all the videos for the ‘Weathermaker Vault’ singles, they just today tossed out 18 minutes of live recorded tracks that serve as a teaser for the just-announced third ‘Live From the Doom Saloon’ livestream they’ll do Dec. 18. With an acoustic version of “Motherless Child,” “Run, John Barleycorn, Run” and “Wishbone” and a surprise Black Sabbath cover of “Lord of this World,” they give a welcome showing for anyone who has yet to shell out for the live sets. Sound and video are right fucking on, as one would expect. Pro-rock and all that.
The PR wire has details for the next stream:
CLUTCH LIVE FROM THE DOOM SALOON – VOLUME III STREAMING DECEMBER 18th, 2020
CLUTCH is once again gearing up for another edition of their Live From The Doom Saloon streaming concert series. The band will be playing a 15 song set of their classics as voted by the fans.
Tickets are on sale now at ClutchMerch.com for Live from the Doom Saloon – Volume III.
“The Doom Saloon Volume 2 set was written by a fan” states frontman Neil Fallon. “We had over 4000 set list submissions. We were able to see what songs were the most requested and for Doom Saloon Volume 3 we will play the fifteen most requested songs from Doom Saloon Volume 2’s set list requests. It could be thought of as a greatest hits set as per the fans.”
Anyone who misses Live from the Doom Saloon – Volume III concert will be able to stream it on-demand through the weekend, right up till midnight EST on 12/20. Show donations will benefit Save Our Stages: https://www.saveourstages.com, a charitable organization that raises money for over 3,000 independent venues in 50 states and Washington D.C. that are banding together to ask Washington for targeted legislation to help live music survive. Music venues were the first to close and will be the last to open due to COVID 19.
Posted in Reviews on November 25th, 2020 by JJ Koczan
For those Clutch fans who’ve followed along over the last year-plus as the band has made their way toward building up their ‘Weathermaker Vault Series’ — the first one to be unveiled was Cactus-via-Willie–Dixon‘s “Evil” in June 2019 — through their own Weathermaker Music label, the collection Weathermaker Vault Series Vol. 1, should be a welcome advent. At very least convenient. In addition to the singles themselves, it includes odds and ends like “Run, John Barleycorn, Run” from the Maryland lifer-rockers’ 2014 split with reggae-informed buddies Lionize, and “Algo Ha Cambiado,” a cover of influential ’70s-era Argentinian outfit Pappo’s Blues that appeared in a jammier take as part of 2009’s Strange Cousins From the West (discussed here and here), as well as sundry other reduxes and covers.
It is, accordingly, a fan-piece. Weathermaker Vault Series Vol. 1 should probably not be anyone’s starting point with Clutch. The band have a wide catalog of full-lengths to choose from, and which one makes the best entry to their work is an argument — a fun argument! — for another time. These 10 songs put together as a respectable 38-minute LP are best approached for what they are, and that’s a niche offering for the previously-indoctrinated.
There’s nothing wrong with that, of course. As they approach 30 years since first getting together, the four-piece of vocalist Neil Fallon, guitarist Tim Sult, bassist Dan Maines and drummer Jean-Paul Gaster are no strangers when it comes to this kind of thing. Various limited live offerings through the years have surfaced, as well as countless promo discs and collections like 2003’s Slow Hole to China: Rare and Unreleased, 2005’s Pitchfork & Lost Needles, 2015’s La Curandera and of course the massive 2020 limited box set, The Obelisk, that brought together all their Weathermaker material — this compilation aside — under one banner. It may be the first of its kind — and it may not be the last; hence ‘vol. 1’ — but even though the method of releasing singles and David Brodsky-directed videos over the course of a year and a half is new to the band, it’s an engagement with multimedia-focused attention spans in a way that fits with what they’ve done before.
Beginning with the recently-unveiled revisit to “Passive Restraints” from the 1992 Earache Records EP of the same name that features a guest appearance from vocalist Randy Blythe of Lamb of God, Weathermaker Vault Series Vol. 1 wants nothing for an initial kick of energy. The nature of an outing like this is to be somewhat disjointed as tracks from various sessions are cobbled together, and Clutch have always been a band who bring out different sounds and vibes working with different producers, and while J. Robbins might be the unifying factor here in having helmed several of the songs, there are still shifts both in sound and style as the band spans their long career arc. Clutch don’t hide from them.
Instead, they back “Passive Restraints” with a newer take on one of their most successful singles, “Electric Worry.” The song that originally appeared on 2007’s From Beale Street to Oblivion (reissue reviewed here) is among Clutch‘s most landmark hooks, and while the single version had the unfortunate timing of being roughly concurrent with the death of former organist Mick Schauer, who played on that album and that track, the Weathermaker Vault “Electric Worry” does well in capturing a sense of the band’s live performance of it. Likewise that the later, speeded up redo for “Spacegrass.” It’s almost painful to hear Maines‘ holy-of-holies bassline played at anything other than a glacial pace, and the total presentation throughout is almost too clean for its own good in comparison to the danker edge with which that “Whenever it feels right” hook was delivered some 25 years ago, but again, that was 25 years ago, and Clutch take nothing away from what was by giving a reinterpretation to their own material.
The only other album track on Weathermaker Vault Series Vol. 1 is “Smoke Banshee,” originally on 2001’s Pure Rock Fury and it’s the best of the three. That LP has been maligned by some for its rougher-edged production — I’ll argue the “noise factor” is part of its appeal — but there’s no debating the success they bring in terms of fullness of sound in this version of “Smoke Banshee.” If they’re testing the waters for a full-re-recording or full-album live runthrough to mark the record’s 20th anniversary next year, “Smoke Banshee” shows that material might indeed be ripe for a revamp. And I like Pure Rock Fury. A lot.
ZZ Top‘s “Precious and Grace” feels like it might be included to let anyone who didn’t know know that Fallon cribbed the “Good god almighty…” lyric on Elephant Riders‘ “Eight Times Over Miss October” from the Texan outfit, and fair enough, and the Creedence Clearwater Revival cut “Fortunate Son” that presumably closes side A could hardly be a more fitting Clutch song if they wrote it. “Run, John Barleycorn, Run” is another among the slew of quality hooks early on, sat comfortably between “Electric Worry” and “Evil,” and quite possibly the best choice Clutch made as regards Weathermaker Vault Series Vol. 1 was to put “Willie Nelson” last, since invariably that’s the song that would be stuck in the listener’s head when the LP is over anyway. There’s just no escape from that chorus, and the re-recording — it originally appeared on Slow Hole to China and in a different version on the 2004 High Times compilation, High Volume — absolutely nails it.
That, obviously, is spoken as a fan of the band, but if the point hasn’t yet be made, that’s who inevitably will be most concerned with Weathermaker Vault Series Vol. 1 anyhow. It’s for the kind of Clutch listener who’s hoping they announce a holiday-timed ‘Doom Saloon’ live stream to take the place of the usual tour. Clutch have discussed the possibility of recording a new album this winter, but since they they can’t play live as they otherwise invariably would, Weathermaker Vault Series Vol. 1 is an opportunity in the meantime for followers to step forward and show support to the band and the work they’ve put in not only across this year, but for nearly three decades. If you made it this far reading, you probably know that already.
Posted in Whathaveyou on November 19th, 2020 by JJ Koczan
Clutch fans, you know what this is. Slow Hole to China. Lost Needles. That La Curandera vinyl. The sundry live records from the earlier ’10s. This is the kind of Clutch offering that comes out as a fan-piece, and if you don’t pick it up, you only get pissed off later at not having done so. You know exactly how it is. You see it at the merch table and you’re like, “Eh, I already bought five shirts, I’ll get it next time,” and then it’s gone and out of print and you feel like a sap. It’s why you bought that deluxe Earth Rocker even though you had the regular one. And you were right to do that.
So, after watching Clutch produce kickass videos for the ‘Weathermaker Vault Series’ over the last year-plus, you know what to do with Weathermaker Vault Series Vol. 1. They’ve even put that Pappo’s Blues cover on there.
You can’t lose:
CLUTCH SET TO RELEASE “THE WEATHERMAKER VAULT SERIES VOL. I” NOVEMBER 27TH
Clutch will be releasing The Weathermaker Vault Series Vol. I November 27th.
In the summer of 2019, Weathermaker Music began to release digital-only Clutch covers and re-recorded songs from their vast catalog as a way to stay active and give fans a regular dose of Clutch every six or so weeks. The campaign is called The Weathermaker Vault Series, and it has been successful so far with the digital release of 9 singles. Weathermaker Music is now releasing a ten-track physical album on CD and 12″ vinyl as The Weathermaker Vault Series Vol. I. The album will contain one unreleased track, a Spanish language cover version of “Algo Ha Cambiado,” a hard-rocking shuffle written by the legendary blues-rock guitarist Norberto Napolitano affectionately known as Pappo of the pioneering Argentinean blues metal band Pappos Blues. The CD and the digital album version will be released on November 27th. A 12″ colored vinyl (Opaque White) LP version will be available in the new year.
“This Clutch release is unique in that we chose to record some of our favorite songs by artists that have provided us with inspiration over the years as well as re-record some Clutch Classics,” states drummer Jean-Paul Gaster. “Hitting the studio this way was great to keep our recording chops up as well as celebrate some music that has meant so much to us as fans and musicians.”
The Weathermaker Vault Series Vol.I Track Listing:
01. Passive Restraints 02. Electric Worry 03. Run, John Barleycorn, Run 04. Evil 05. Fortunate Son 06. Algo Ha Cambiado 07. Spacegrass 08. Precious And Grace 09. Smoke Banshee 10. Willie Nelson
CLUTCH: Neil Fallon – Vocals/Guitar Tim Sult – Guitar Dan Maines – Bass Jean-Paul Gaster – Drums/Percussion
Posted in Bootleg Theater on November 16th, 2020 by JJ Koczan
Look, I’m perfectly willing to go on record and say I’ve never been a Lamb of God fan. My first real exposure to the band was seeing them live in 2000 at an event hosted by my college radio station, selling their merch and when Randy Blythe came up and couldn’t find a box of CDs, accusing me of stealing it — I told him, “dude I haven’t sold one of your records, I don’t know what you think I’d do with a whole box of them,” which is not a line I regret — and trying to get me fired.
Well, I’d get myself fired without his help eventually and for something entirely unrelated, but the sour taste left in my mouth from that incident hardly dissipated as the band went on to inherit Pantera‘s fanbase and emerge as one of their generation’s leading metal bands. Was it the worst thing Blythe ever did? Well, there was that time a guy died. Did my lack of on-boardness hold Lamb of God back or cause them to lose sleep? Likely not.
So here come Clutch with a redux of “Passive Restraints,” taken from the 1992 EP of the same name, and they brought Blythe into the studio to guest on vocals as he’s apparently done a couple times on stage. Fine.
I’ll look forward to when the entire Weathermaker Vault Series comes out later this month and furrowing my brow when this song comes on. You care? Nah.
Here’s the video:
Clutch, “Passive Restraints” official video
Clutch has released its new single “Passive Restraints” today. “Passive Restraints” originally appeared as the title track to the bands 2nd EP released in 1992. This newly recorded version is part of the Weathermaker Vault Series and features guest vocals by Randy Blythe from Lamb of God. Clutch and Blythe have collaborated on this track live for several years now, the last time at European festival appearances in the summer of 2019. The song can be streamed on Spotify at this location: https://orcd.co/passiverestraints and on the band’s official YouTube Channel: https://tinyurl.com/yy2575t7
The upcoming official video for the song was directed by David Brodsky (The Black Dahlia Murder, Papa Roach).
“Passive Restraints’ was one of the first Clutch songs I wrote lyrics to,” states frontman Neil Fallon. “It was a staple of Clutch sets for years but fell by the wayside as we wrote more and more songs over the years. When we toured with Lamb of God a few years back, Randy would often ask us to bring it back into rotation. We dragged our feet, and finally, we caved. And we were glad we did. The last time Clutch played Copenhell, Randy joined us on stage to perform the song. We decided to re-record it for the WM Vault Series and thought it was only fitting to have Randy join us.”
The single “Passive Restraints” comes from the upcoming album “WeatherMaker Vault Series Vol. I” out on Friday November 27th.
CLUTCH: Neil Fallon – Vocals/Guitar Tim Sult – Guitar Dan Maines – Bass Jean-Paul Gaster – Drums/Percussion
Posted in Whathaveyou on October 20th, 2020 by JJ Koczan
Yeah, I know. Snicker snicker. If I believed in fun, the title of this box set would tickle me pink. In any case, Clutch originally announced their humongous 18LP The Obelisk box set would be out for Record Store Day in April. They had a bunch of tour dates to coincide. Well, neither the tour dates nor the box set nor anyone’s anything happened as scheduled. The box set is happening this weekend. The tour? Well, we’ll just see about that. Don’t forget to wear your mask to your favorite participating record store.
Speaking of. I made the trek to one of New Jersey’s premier indie spots the other day. It was early in the day and I took The Pecan since he says the words “record store” I think because he knows he’ll get a positive response for doing so. Whatever. I looked around at CDs I don’t have room for and LPs that were cool looking but that I also don’t have room for and are more expensive and it was just kind of a bummer. I didn’t end up getting anything. It was cool to go with the kid and all, but I felt like I was kind of missing out. Time was I’d go drop $150 easy at this place without looking back. Now I just suck I guess.
But this’d be a reason to go back:
CLUTCH’S LP BOX SET “THE OBELISK” IS FINALLY HERE
After many delays due to the ongoing pandemic The Obelisk is finally scheduled to hit stores on Saturday, Oct. 24th for the third drop of Record Store Day. The box set is comprised of all of Clutch’s Weathermaker Music vinyl releases. There are six double LP’s, three 12″ LPs, and three 12″ picture discs all together in a beautifully designed box set. In addition, the box contains a turntable mat and a square, artist signed lithograph. The rigid box has a magnetic closure and the silver foil is stamped on black Sierra cloth. This is a unique collector’s item and only 2,000 boxes were made for worldwide sales.
Says Neil Fallon: “In 2008 Clutch launched Weathermaker Music. Starting our own record label has proven to be one of the better decisions we made and The Obelisk box set is evidence. The Obelisk is comprised of all the Clutch vinyl LPs released on Weathermaker Music. It has been a long time coming, but we think it has been worth the wait.”
You can finally find this LP box set at participating Record Store Day retailers everywhere around the country on Saturday, October 24th.”
The individual 12” vinyl releases are Full Fathom Five (2xLP), Live at The Googolplex (Picture Disc), Jam Room (Picture Disc). Pitchfork & Lost Needles (Picture Disc), La Curandera, Strange Cousins From The West (2xLP),Blast Tyrant (2xLP), Robot Hive/Exodus (2xLP), From Beale Street To Oblivion (2xLP) Earth Rocker, Psychic Warfare, and Book Of bad Decisions (2xLP).
CLUTCH: Neil Fallon – Vocals/Guitar Tim Sult – Guitar Dan Maines – Bass Jean-Paul Gaster – Drums/Percussion
Posted in Reviews on August 10th, 2020 by JJ Koczan
Clutch clearly learned a few lessons from the first Live at the Doom Saloon streamed concert they performed at the end of May. Lighting, multiple cameras operated by video collaborators David Brodsky and Robb Brown, and even a fog machine saved for the end of the show, which ran an hour long and boasted a fan-picked set. The guy’s name was Marshall, he won — among other things — an Orange amp. Go figure. Marshall got numerous shout outs from Clutch vocalist Neil Fallon between songs — “another awkward guitar change, thanks Marshall,” etc. — but it was a righteous set and clearly the work of an established fan, running as it did from Clutch‘s earliest days to 2018’s Book of Bad Decisions (review here), their latest album, and “Smoke Banshee” from 2001’s Pure Rock Fury, which was recently re-recorded for their ‘Weathermaker Vault Series.’
That series seems to be an ongoing project awaiting handy compilation, but in the meantime, Live at the Doom Saloon II will be released on limited vinyl, and as part of the proceeds from merch was going directly to the band’s crew — obviously out of work with no touring happening; Clutch are an American small business enterprise as well as a band; pro-rock and all that — there’s little doubt the LPs will go if they’re not already gone. Those as well as commemorative t-shirts featuring art with the “king of the dragon men” — a reference to the song “Oregon,” which closed the set; nicely done, Marshall — were available to coincide with the stream, and though of course seeing Clutch on a screen isn’t the same as seeing them in person, at least they were playing live. Fallon changed the lyrics of set-opener “How to Shake Hands” from “I know how to work a room” to “I know how to work a Zoom,” both holding the rhyme and winking at the horrific absurdity of this new version of real-life.
Here’s the full set, as the band handily posted afterward:
How to Shake Hands
Power Player
Rock ‘n’ Roll Outlaw
Far Country
Smoke Banshee
What Would a Wookie Do?
Mice and Gods
Profits of Doom
Ghoul Wrangler
King of Arizona
(In The Wake Of) The Swollen Goat
Your Love Is Incarceration
Brazenhead
Oregon
Is it the bunch of songs I would’ve chosen? No, but it was probably more interesting. I’ve seen Clutch on stage any number of times — most recently last December — and I can’t ever remember them breaking out “Far Country” from the 1991 debut EP, Pitchfork, or the 2009 digital single “King of Arizona.” And putting “How to Shake Hands” next to “Power Player” and “Rock ‘n’ Roll Outlaw” at the start of the gig was clever in terms of drawing a theme back across a span of records from the four-piece’s catalog. “What Would a Wookie Do?” and “King of Arizona” were specifically designated as “deep cuts” by Fallon, but he, bassist Dan Maines, drummer Jean-Paul Gaster and guitarist Tim Sult handled them with aplomb, perhaps missing the crowd energy of having people in the room, but still putting on what felt very much like a Clutch show, if a somewhat one-sided version of one.
The multiple cameras worked well in giving each member of the band screen-time, and Fallon had one to meet head on to deliver lyrics into, which was an added touch of fun. Sadly, Maines did not have the wingback chair that featured in the video for the re-recorded single “Willie Nelson” (posted here) earlier this year, but he as ever was the secret weapon behind Clutch‘s groove. Everyone knows Tim Sult is a wah-master. Dude could teach college classes on the subject. And Gaster is so bop on drums he’s literally bouncing up and down while he plays, funking out the beats as he hits the kit. It’s wild, and Neil Fallon has an entire generation of beardo frontmen following in his wake, none of whom are a match for him in lyrical wit, vocal talent, or on-stage charisma. But Dan Maines, with his wingback chair-worthy subdued presence, is a walking, not really talking, kind-of-grooving-out lesson in how heavy rock bass can be played at its absolute best. In the parlance of our times, he is an essential worker. #achairfordan
I couldn’t help but wonder what the process was for picking a set from among the 4,000 they reportedly received when they put the ask out to their fans and started the contest. If they were looking from something different from the “usual,” they got it. Live staples like “Electric Worry” and “Firebirds!” featured in the first Live at the Doom Saloon, so that ground had been covered. Maybe they were looking for a challenge to themselves; breaking out material they hadn’t played in however long and airing it to fans who, like me, had never seen it live before. Songs like “Mice and Gods” and “(In the Wake Of) The Swollen Goat” were certainly familiar enough, and “Your Love is Incarceration,” more recent, has been a regular in sets supporting Book of Bad Decisions, but “Brazenhead” and “Oregon” both come from 2003’s Slow Hole to China: Rare and Unreleased from Weathermaker Music precursor River Road Records, and I’m going to guess they’ve never closed out a show back to back on their own.
So yeah. Good job, Marshall, I guess.
And for the Doom Saloon III: full album performance?
In my ongoing effort at honest pandemic-era-livestream reportage, I’ll note that I watched the entirety of Live at the Doom Saloon II on my phone sitting on the edge of my son’s favorite sandbox while he played with digger trucks. The morning rebroadcast. Yup, the full hour. Kid really likes trucks. He’d check in periodically, say, “Watching Clutch,” then go back to the excavator or the front-end loader. There you go. Real life.
Thanks to Suze Wright for making this one happen for me, and thanks to you for reading.
